It’s officially July and I’m loving the heat wave we’ve been having in DC. June was another busy month and I’ve been working on a few new things for the blog I’ll be unveiling soon. In the meantime here are some fantastic links to rap up the month of June!

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We all know breakfast is the most important (and, in my opinion, most delicious) meal of the day, with that in mind I have a yummy french toast casserole that you can prepare tonight, and bake when you get up in the morning. I dub this scrumptious creation Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole with Maple Cream Cheese Filling. With thick, crusty bread, sweet, juicy apples, and tangy, sweet maple cream cheese filling, you really can’t go wrong

I started with some crusty pecan raisin bread from the grocery store bakery (any flavor you like is find as long as it’s a thicker, crusty bread) and cut it into cubes.

I layered half of it in a baking dish and topped it with chopped apples (I used fuji, but any kind you have on hand is fine).

Then I whipped up some maple syrup cream cheese by whisking together cream cheese, syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon (try to refrain from eating this with a spoon…) and poured it over the apples.

I topped the apples with the remainder of the bread. Next I beat some eggs with some milk and more cinnamon and poured the mixture over top of the casserole, making sure all the bread was coated.

At this point I covered the casserole and refrigerated it overnight, but if you’re super ambitious you could bake it as soon as you’re done prepping it (but I definitely love sleeping way too much for that). Bake in the oven until the top gets brown and crunchy.

I let it sit for a few minutes and then served it with some fresh berries, let me tell you, it was divine! The perfect balance of sweet, I didn’t even use syrup.

Recipe

Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole with Maple Cream Cheese Filling

Makes 1 – 8″ square baking pan

Ingredients:

1 loaf of crusty pecan raisin bread (mine was ~1 pound) – cubed

2 apples – chopped into bite sized cubes

4 ounces cream cheese – softened

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon cinnamon

4 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Fresh fruit (optional for serving)

Maple syrup (optional for serving)

– Layer half of the cubes bread in the bottom of a 8″ square baking pan and cover with the chopped apples

– Whisk together the softened cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla and tablespoon of cinnamon until smooth (microwave for a few seconds if needed) and pour over the apples

– Top with the remaining half of the bread cubes

– Whisk the eggs, milk, and teaspoon of cinnamon until well combined and pour evenly over the casserole, making sure all of the bread cubes are coated

– Cover and refrigerate overnight (or bake immediately if desired)

– Heat the oven to 375 ºF and bake for 50-55 minutes, the top should be browned and slightly crisp and the center should not jiggle when the dish is moved

– Let stand for a few minutes and serve with fresh fruit and maple syrup as desired

My boyfriend came to visit about a week ago and brought some absolutely amazing cookies with him. He knows I love all things chocolate and that coconut is one of my favorite flavors, so he whipped up these cookies and he agreed to share the recipe with all of you, so without further ado, here’s Luke with a fantastic cookie recipe!

Like Taylor said, I know she has an unwavering love of chocolate, and both of us have been trying out more coconut in our cooking so combining the two into a delicious cookie seemed like a no-brainer! Toasting the coconut really kicks up the delicious coconut flavor (plus it makes your kitchen smell fantastic) and the melty dark chocolate chunks give it the perfect final touch.

On the topic of toasted coconut, preheat your oven and spread the coconut out on a baking sheet covered in foil.

A few weeks ago I made a caprese salad that was incredibly delicious and super simple. In fact, it’s so simple, I almost feel bad calling this a recipe. All you need are 4 ingredients, tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar. I reduced the vinegar to bring out a sweeter, more complex, tangy flavor that paired excellently with the juicy tomatoes, rich mozzarella, and fresh basil. This salad works great as a side for BBQs.

I used grape tomatoes so I cut them in half, basically chop up whatever tomatoes your using into bite sized chunks. Do these same for your cheese. For the basil I roll the leaves into a cylinder and then cut into strips that end up looking like basil confetti. Then toss those three ingredients together in a bowl.

To reduce the balsamic vinegar put it in pain and boil until it’s reduced by about half and has a thicker, more syrup-like consistency.

Stir everything together until well combined!

Feel free to serve right away or make it ahead of time, refrigerate, and serve cold, it’s delicious either way (I may have made it the night before a picnic and had it for dinner, then ate it cold the next day…).

Recipe

Caprese Salad

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 pints cherry tomatoes (any tomatoes will work)

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese

8-12 large basil leaves

1 cup balsamic vinegar

– In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar to a boil and let cook until reduced by half and has a more syrup-like consistency (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally

So. It’s June… I’m not quite sure how this happened and I haven’t published any posts since mid-April (oopsie) but now that classes and finals are over for the semester and I have my first year of grad school finished I’m hoping I have more time to share the delicious things I cook up with all of you. As a catch up here’s a review of what the world has been liking on my blog and some pretty great recipes I’ve found, enjoy!

My Top 5 Most Viewed Recipes (since it’s been 2 months I threw in 2 extra posts for you…)

I’m not sure how I managed to have only one dessert recipe in this roundup but these Carrot Cake Cheesecake Crumble Bars (From Wicked Good Kitchen) look like an amazing concoction combining two delicious desserts into one yummy bar!

From Wicked Good Kitchen

My Top 12 Favorite Links from May (I added because this is a very, very, overdue post. Okay, actually it’s because I tried to narrow it down to 10 but just couldn’t pick which 2 I should eliminate, I’m indecisive like that…)

One of my favorite meals at my college dining hall was the breaded ravioli, so I got super excited when I saw this recipe for Toasted Ravioli (From The Pioneer Woman), I’m definitely going to try it out.

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So. I just realized it’s over halfway through April (even though it still feels like winter, we even had a little bit of snow last night, ridiculous!) and I have yet to post my review for March, which has been sitting, half-finished, in my drafts… oops… Anyway, here’s my review for last month, better late than never!

I discovered cara cara oranges last year and I absolutely cannot get enough of them! These Cara Cara Orange Mini Muffins (from Chez Catey Lou) seem like the perfect way to get more of the delicious flavor in my life.

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Last week I went to visit my boyfriend in Illinois (I realize normally you go somewhere warm for spring break, but surprisingly enough my trip to the mid-west meant I missed a DC snow storm). I flew into O’Hare and he took me out to a surprise dinner in Chicago. We ended up at D’Noche (because he knows my never ending love for Mexican food). The restaurant had all kinds of delicious Latin American food, it was the perfect meal!

We started things out with a sangria blanca (because white wine sangria is one of my favorite things, and who doesn’t need a drink after a flight?) and guacamole (because you don’t need a reason for guacamole).

We also ordered the trio de empanadas (very reminiscent of my time in Argentina). An order came with a beef, shrimp, and chicken empanada along with a variety of different sauces (one of them being chimichurri, which is the best I’ve had since getting back from Argentina) that went well with all of the empanadas and the guacamole as well.

For dinner I got chiles rellenos (pobalano peppers stuffed with cheese, and covered in salsa Ranchera) which came with beans and rice. The cheese was melty and rich and delicious and the side orders were great too.

Luke opted for the tacos de camaron (shrimp tacos) with green rice which he let me try (because I would have stolen some anyway…) and they were quite yummy as well, the goat cheese went surprisingly well with the shrimp (I never really thought of putting shrimp and cheese together, but then again cheese goes with pretty much everything).

It was an absolutely delicious start to a wonderful trip! I’ll be telling you all about my visit to Urbabna-Champaign in an upcoming post, so keep your eyes open for it!

I’m sitting in bed on this lovely snow day (I like the snow, but in all honesty I am soooo ready for warm weather) and I can’t believe I’m writing a review of February already (yeah, I know I say that pretty much every month, but time has been flying lately). February may be a short month but it was jam packed with great activities and lots of delicious food! Picking out just ten recipes to share with you all was kind of a challenge this month, I hope you enjoy perusing them as much as I enjoyed picking them out!

It’s Girl Scout Cookie season, and while I have no problem eating a box of Samoas, this No Bake Samoa Cheesecake (From Life, Love & Sugar) looks like a great way to make a new dessert out of something already delicious!

From Life, Love & Sugar

If you know me at all (or read my blog at all) it’s no secret that I absolutely love Mexican food, and these Cheesy Baked Chicken Taquitos (from Anna Shortcakes) will be making an appearance at my dinner table!

From Anna Shortcakes

If you know anything about me, you also know I love chocolate, and this Chocolate Truffle Crème Brûlée (from Love and Olive Oil) looks like pure chocolatey goodness!

Banana and peanut butter is one of my favorite flavor combinations (if you add chocolate then you have the trifecta) and this Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting (From Two Peas and Their Pod) pairs them both perfectly!

From Two Peas and Their Pod

Smoky Bacon Mac and Cheese (From Crumb Blog) seems like an amazing and delicious twist on my favorite food ever, I mean, adding bacon can only make things better, right?

From Crumb Blog

I love strawberries and I love caprese, this recipe for Strawberry Caprese Crostini (Put On Your Cake Pants) combines them on bread, I’m not sure what could be better!

From Put On Your Cake Pants

This final recipe for Pina Colada Sorbet (From Turmeric n Spice) is me hoping that it warms up soon and I can enjoy Pina Coladas by the pool (but I have a feeling that will be wishful thinking for a while longer).

From Turmeric n Spice

Feel free to share any recipes you’re loving this month!

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Today I have another recipe for you that I made for the Super Bowl party. It’s spicy and cheesy and delicious! I love pretty much everything Buffalo chicken flavored and this dip incorporates all of them, chicken, Buffalo sauce, blue cheese, and ranch. And it’s all melted together in a yummy ring of crescent rolls. The recipe is similar to my Buffalo Chicken Cucumber Boats, but if I’m being honest I like this one even better🙂

First mix up some cream cheese, ranch, and buffalo sauce.

Stir in some shredded chicken and blue cheese crumbles.

Spread the crescent rolls (two combined in a rectangle) in a ring so the bottom is connected, then scoop the chicken mix around the ring, and pull the crescent rolls around and seal the ring. I apologize for not having a picture of this but I got really excited about making it (let’s be honest, I just really wanted to eat it and the prospect of blue cheese and buffalo sauce so I forgot…). Bake in the oven until golden brown and delicious.

Let it cool for a little and serve with celery in the middle.

Cut in wedges and serve, yummy!

Recipe

Buffalo Chicken Ring

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts – shredded

8 oz cream cheese – softened

1/4 cup ranch dressing

1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot (adjust according to your taste)

4 oz blue cheese crumbles

2 tubes crescent rolls

celery for serving

– Preheat oven to 375 ºF

– Mix together the cream cheese, ranch, and hot sauce

– Stir in the shredded chicken

– Add the blue cheese and stir until well combined

– Take the crescent rolls and separate them into rectangles (two crescent rolls connected with the separating line as the diagonal of the rectangle), make a circle out of them with the smaller side of the rectangles as the circle

I’m so happy that it’s warming up (even if only temporary), being able to go outside without a heavy coat, gloves, and a scarf is such a welcome change! The recipe I have for you today is perfect for warmer weather as it doesn’t require any cooking. But, never fear, it’s delicious any time of year, I actually made it for a Super Bowl party when it was still freezing out, and everyone loved it! This super easy taco dip will take you less than 10 minutes to put together but it has TONS of flavor, from sour cream and taco seasoning to fresh salsa and cheese, you can’t go wrong with this dip!

First beat a packet of taco seasoning (or make your own with paprika, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper) with some sour cream and cream cheese.

Spread the sour cream mixture into a pan and top with fresh salsa (or you can be an over achiever and cut up your own vegetables but let’s be honest, I’m definitely too lazy for that).

Top the salsa with shredded cheese (I used a Mexican 4 cheese blend but any cheese you like will do) and shredded lettuce.